Estate and guardianship of Joseph Cooper of Fayette Co., Kentucky — dower to his widow Elizabeth (1817) and the 1820 guardianship that names his four minor children.

Transcription and notes

Provenance, the clause that names and dates four children, the mother's retained right, and what an $8,000 bond implies are all in the source: and coverage: headers and are not repeated here.

The GUARDIANSHIP — it names the children [verbatim] (1820, ark 3Q9M-C9PK-6RR1)

"Settlement of the accounts of Daniel Cooper & Reuben Houghton Cooper administrators of Joseph Cooper deceased returned to Court and ordered to be recorded [1820]. Daniel Cooper is appointed Guardian to Sally Cooper, John Cooper, Washington Cooper and Joseph Cooper, infant orphans of Joseph Cooper deceased, under the age of fourteen years, who executed bond in the penal sum of Eight thousand dollars with John Hanlon his security … The mother of said infants having the right of Guardianship by Certificate herewith filed."

⇒ Joseph Cooper's minor children (all under 14 in 1820, so b. ~1807–1816): Sally [p.1636], John (= John Houghton Cooper, [p.668], b.1810), Washington [p.855], Joseph [Jr, p.853]. Their mother (Elizabeth) held the right of guardianship. (Guardian = Daniel Cooper, Joseph's brother — see [I.195]/Perrin: Joseph came to KY with brothers William and Daniel.)

Cross-check: the four named = the four survivors; the fifth L.4 child is correctly absent

[L.4] draws five children under Joseph; this 1820 guardianship names four — and the difference is a consistency check, not a conflict. The four named are exactly the L.4 children alive and under 14 in Aug 1820 (Sally d.1824, John d.1878, Washington d.1829, Joseph d.1829). The one L.4 child not named is Perry Cooper [p.854] (b. 9 Jun 1814 – d. 13 May 1815) — dead five years before the guardianship, so correctly excluded from a minors' enrollment. The family Bible ([F.227], obtained 2026-07-18) now names all five children with exact dates (Sarah/Sally, John Houghton, Washington, Perry, Joseph Jr), confirming this reconciliation: the guardianship's four = precisely the four alive-and-minor in Aug 1820, Perry correctly absent (d. 1815).

The DOWER to the widow [verbatim] (Jan 1817)

(commissioners' allotment) "We the undersigned commissioners … to allot to Elizabeth Cooper late widow of Joseph Cooper decd her Right of dower in said estate … personal estate amounts to $1990.48½ … one negro Woman Named Charlotte $1400 … the heirs & Widow wished there should be no division [of the real estate] as the same was Rented out … Given under our hands this 13 Jany 1817. Jas Wood, Jo Graves, Moses Randel[ph]." (court order, same term) "Allotment of dower to Elizabeth Cooper widow & relick of Joseph Cooper decd returned to Court & ordered to be Recorded."

⇒ Joseph died BEFORE January 1817 (consistent with the tree's "~1816"), leaving widow Elizabeth + a substantial estate (~$1,990 personal + enslaved people + rented real estate). ( The family Bible [F.227] now gives the exact death date — 7 May 1816 — so the dower falls ~8 months after death, as expected.)

The SETTLEMENT ACCOUNT [verbatim where legible] (ark 33S7-9P35-94G5)

"The Estate of Joseph Cooper in account with [D.] Cooper and Reubin Houghton … To Cash paid Elizabeth Cooper … To Cash paid Eliza Cooper … To cash paid for maintenance of the children up to March 1819 … maintenance of family up to March 1818 … support of the Family to this date."

⇒ The administrators' account pays the widow Elizabeth, an Eliza Cooper, and repeated sums for the children's/family's maintenance (their minority). (The family Bible [F.227] shows no daughter named Eliza/Elisha — Joseph & Elizabeth's daughters were Sarah/Sally [p.1636] and no other — so "Eliza Cooper" here is most likely the widow Elizabeth herself, "Eliza" being the standard nickname; corrected 2026-07-18.) (Administrator name reads "D. Cooper" here vs "Daniel Cooper" in the guardianship — same man; the AI-transcript's "W." is a mis-read.)

Why it matters

1. Closes the [p.669] L.4 question decisively: Joseph's death (pre-1817) and his children are now primary-source-documented — the tree-tier "d.1816, children unknown" is replaced by a court record naming Sally / John / Washington / Joseph.
2. ~~Two new KY Y-line sons~~ — RETRACTED 2026-07-18 by the family Bible ([F.227]). Washington [p.855] and Joseph Jr [p.853] both died as teenagers, unmarried, with no issue (Washington b. 8 Jul 1812 – d. 22 Mch 1829, age 16; Joseph Jr b. 19 May 1816 – d. 8 Aug 1829, age 13 — and posthumous, born 12 days after his father). ⇒ neither has male descendants; neither is a [pr.14] Y-DNA candidate. The guardianship named them only as living minors in 1820 — it took the Bible's death dates to show the Y-line dead-ends. The KY Joseph-branch Y-line continues only through John Houghton [p.668].
3. Reuben Houghton Cooper (co-administrator) is an ADULT (guardianship/account, 1820) — so not one of the four minor wards; his exact relationship (Joseph's brother? a Houghton-side Cooper? an older son by a possible earlier marriage?) is open → stub [p.1637]. The "Houghton" middle name ties to the widow's family ([p.668] Elizabeth Houghton).

Cross-references

• p.669 Joseph Cooper (1782–1816) (the decedent) · p.1623 Elizabeth (Houghton) Cooper (widow) · p.668 John Houghton Cooper (son "John") · p.854 Perry Cooper (5th child, d. as infant) · p.855 Washington Cooper · p.853 Joseph Cooper Jr · p.1636 Sally Cooper · p.1637 Reuben Houghton Cooper
• C.63 (the 1808 marriage — bond + license now in hand) · I.195 (Perrin 1882 biography: parents + Holland tradition + brothers William/Daniel)
• pr.14 · pr.2